Vistara To Merge With Air India: What Travelers Need To Know

Vistara is gearing up for a major transformation as it merges with Air India, promising a new era of travel with expanded options and top-notch services.

Starting September 3, 2024, you won’t be able to book Vistara flights for travel after November 12, 2024. From then on, Vistara aircraft will be operated by Air India, and bookings will be redirected to Air India’s website. Vistara will continue normal operations and bookings until November 11, 2024.

Both airlines are committed to making this transition as smooth as possible. They will provide consistent updates and support to ensure a hassle-free experience. For any questions or actions needed regarding your travel, check out the FAQs on the Vistara website.

According to the official Press Release, Vinod Kannan, Vistara’s CEO, shared his gratitude, saying, “Vistara and Air India are committed to ensuring that this transition is smooth and hassle-free. We are excited about this new phase in our journey and look forward to welcoming our customers again soon – as Air India.”

Campbell Wilson, CEO & Managing Director of Air India, added, “The joint team looks forward to offering our guests an expanded network, additional flight options, an enhanced frequent flyer program and the best of both antecedent airlines and are grateful for the support of our loyal customers through this next phase of building a world class, world scale, global airline with an Indian heart.”

According to Reuters, Singapore Airlines, which owns 49 percent of Vistara in a joint venture with India’s Tata Group said it had received approval for foreign direct investment into an expanded Air India, clearing a significant hurdle in the merger process. Singapore’s flagship carrier announced a plan to merge the decade-old Vistara and Tata-owned Air India in November 2022, in a bid to create a dominant full-service airline in the domestic and international markets.

India is among the world’s fastest-growing major aviation markets. Global airlines are expanding flights to the country and Indian airlines last year placed record orders for hundreds of new planes. Singapore Airlines said it expected the merger deal, which Indian and Singaporean antitrust regulators have cleared, to be completed by the end of 2024. That is delayed from the original target of March, and the airline said the companies were in talks about an extension to the agreed stop date of Oct. 31.

Air India Spokesperson, on the other hand, said “Air India welcomes the Union Cabinet’s approval for the foreign direct investment by Singapore Airlines in Air India. This is an important milestone that facilitates the merger process between Vistara and Air India, and the broader transformation of the Air India Group.”

Updates about the merger, including details on web check-ins, lounge access, and other services, will be shared through the airlines’ websites, social media, and email.